Cocky Earl - Annabelle Anders Page 0,106

mother,” she whispered to remind him.

Charley felt a little sorry for her.

But she was not sorry for what she had done tonight.

Charley shifted her gaze and met the countess’s. The woman loved Julian. As did Charley. She could hardly fault her for that.

With a blink and a jerk of her chin, Lady Westerley nodded succinctly and turned to one of the manservants who, along with a handful of other footmen, began guiding guests out of the gambling room and back toward the large dining room where the meal would be served. No one seemed all that outraged or scandalized in that moment, and Charley couldn’t help but wonder if this sort of thing happened often at English balls.

Julian caught her tight and rested his forehead against hers. “You.” His eyes met hers. “Were sensational.”

“I think I might have ruined your mother’s ball.”

“Only if we were in London. Country parties lack the formality of a London affair.” He’d yet to release her as the room emptied out and Charley simply stared back at him.

Now was as good a time as any.

“You are free, Julian. To marry who you want. I know what you said a moment ago… But you have done what you promised my father. You have courted me and made your offer. My answer is no. You are free. And in case you think you are bound because you’ve ruined my reputation, allow me to remind you that my home is thousands of miles away and I have no need of a place in Philadelphia society. So again, you are free.”

At first, he frowned as his eyes shifted back and forth between both of hers. And then, he touched the side of her face and his mouth relaxed. “Thank you. This will be an important part of the story you tell our grandchildren.”

He dropped his arms from around her, took hold of her hands in both of his, and dropped to one knee for the second time in as many days.

“Not because of any card game, or because I’ve harmed your reputation, or even because it’s the right thing to do.” He grinned. “I have a question to ask you, Charlotte Arabella Jackson.”

She swallowed hard.

“Because you’ve given me permission to be myself. Because you’ve touched a part of my heart I never knew existed. And because I cannot imagine living my life without you in it every single day. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

For an instant, Charley thought about her home back in Philadelphia. About her father’s house and the experimental barrels of whiskey she would abandon. And her father, whom she’d always thought would be the most important man in her life.

“And because I love you,” Jules added, squeezing her hands as he waited for her answer.

“Yes.” The answer could never be anything else. “Because I love you, too.”

Epilogue

Charley stepped carefully through the meadow, not rushing to keep up with her father, but rather, forcing him to match his stride to hers. Exactly one week had passed since Jules had officially announced their engagement.

Her father had just arrived late last night and hadn’t met with either Jules or his mother yet. He didn’t know that she’d accepted Jules, nor that she knew about the bet.

She gritted her teeth, not yet ready to forgive him for everything but not nearly as angry as she’d been two weeks before.

And she couldn’t help but compare this morning’s walk with the last time she’d walked with him, when she’d been introduced to Jules.

So much had changed since then.

As they’d set out from the manor, her father regaled her with information he’d gleaned from the few distillers he’d managed to meet before he’d been called back to Westerley Crossings. He hadn’t seemed at all taken aback by Lady Westerley’s summons. It was almost as though he’d expected it.

Neither of them mentioned the note he’d left for her, a course of action which reflected the nature of their relationship. She listened to him thoughtfully, intrigued by some of what he had to say, but mostly waited for him to ask why Lady Westerley had sent the messenger to ask him to return early. Perhaps he simply assumed she’d not done as he’d asked. Be good. Keep an open mind. She bit her lip to keep from grinning.

Because she’d definitely opened her mind up to the idea of marriage, but she had not been a good girl by any measure.

She would have thought he’d be curious about it, what with his